GNT Group, a company
that specializes in natural-ingredient-based food color, recently conducted a
survey to understand the label-reading behavior of consumers across the world.
The survey threw up a surprising finding: Asian consumers are more likely to
weigh up product labels as compared to their American counterparts. But what
doesn’t come as a surprise is the revelation that consumers more likely to add
clean-label products to their shopping carts.

It is amply clear from
the survey that consumers all across the world are paying more attention to
food labels and are weighing their options before deciding on a final purchase.
The survey found that in Europe, about 50% consumers read labels closely,
whereas in the United States, the number stands at 64%. Asia, ostensibly, has
the most conscious consumers, with 84% saying that they read food labels
closely before buying a product.

As part of the survey,
the company reached out to over 5,000 consumers, across 10 countries in the
following regions: the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Questions asked in the
survey largely pertained to the eating and food shopping habits of consumers.

From the global
standpoint, about 68% consumers said that they read labels to make a healthier
eating choice – this, however, depended on whether such information was readily
available via the labels. However, in China, Thailand, and Indonesia, this
applied to 73% of respondents.

Of all global consumers
that read food product labels, about two-thirds said that they would reject a
particular product based on attributes such as synthetic food color. However,
in Asia, the same number was seen at an impressive 74%.

The results of the
survey reveal that in consumers’ opinion, natural food color and the
‘naturalness’ of ingredients used in food products is a crucial aspect. Among
other findings, the survey also saw that for many consumers, grocery shopping
is a leisure activity rather than an ‘annoying activity.’